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This question already has an answer here:

When flagging a question as duplicate, the description of the action that provides the premise behind the flagging choice reads "This question has been asked before and already has an answer.".

I was under the impression that any question that is asked that is a clear duplicate of another regardless of whether the previous had been answered yet or not constitutes grounds for closure as duplicate. However the text suggests that a question should only be flagged as duplicate if another question of same type has already received an answer.

Am I wrong in assuming that the current convention for duplicate flagging is indeed whether the question being considered has already been asked before regardless of whether it's 'original' has received an answer or not? If so, does that not encourage flooding of the site with duplicate questions yet to receive an answer?

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marked as duplicate by gnat, Community♦ Oct 5 '17 at 12:38

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

  • It's usually "something vaguely like this question has been asked before, and you failed to explicitly state why it doesn't answer your query, or maybe someone edited your question to be the same as that one". The whole system needs an overhaul. – user370230 Oct 5 '17 at 12:16
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    @gnat How would you suggest I modify the question since the one you linked talks about the detail where the description refers to the chronology of the asked questions whereas this tackles the condition that the question the asked one is a duplicate of must have an answer to warrant the flagging. – Shiri Oct 5 '17 at 12:34
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    @gnat I've found a more accurate duplicate. – Shiri Oct 5 '17 at 12:38

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